Vector Architects – Dezeenhttps://www.dezeen.com
architecture and design magazineFri, 09 Dec 2016 13:24:12 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Vector Architects drapes steel mesh to create new entrance to M Woods museum in Beijinghttps://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/29/vector-architects-m-woods-museum-entrance-beijing-steel-mesh/
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/29/vector-architects-m-woods-museum-entrance-beijing-steel-mesh/#commentsMon, 29 Aug 2016 07:00:36 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=961857Vector Architects has draped lengths of wire mesh over the entrance to a museum housed in a former warehouse in Beijing (+ slideshow). The local studio was asked to transform the entrance to the M Woods museum in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, to improve visitor experience and create a stronger visual identity for the building. The small holes in

]]>Vector Architects has draped lengths of wire mesh over the entrance to a museum housed in a former warehouse in Beijing (+ slideshow).

The local studio was asked to transform the entrance to the M Woods museum in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, to improve visitor experience and create a stronger visual identity for the building.

The small holes in the mesh reveal the building's original brick facade and windows behind, but also create a clear new entrance point and signage for the museum.

"The translucency and reflectivity of the metal mesh turns the entrance facade into a more lively condition, since the mesh can bring sunlight to where it is in shadow," said the studio.

"Our primary strategy is not to reform the exiting facade, but to add a layer of translucency on it," it added. "Hence people are able to sense the old when they experience the new, and read the historical information of the city."

The architects chose lightweight galvanised iron wire mesh as the primary material for the M Woods Entrance Revitalisation due to time and budget limitations. The whole project, from design to construction, was completed in just 40 days.

The same draping technique was also used to revitalise a strip of disused space outside the museum, creating a space to sit, for children to play and to host a Sunday farmers market.

The pieces of mesh create a scalloped canopy over this patio area, visually connecting it with the museum.

"In the past two decades, Chinese cities have experienced a rapid development: a substantial amount of old buildings, streets, historical blocks, and even topography were wiped out and replaced by newly 'designed' urban appearances," said the studio.

"Our living environment becomes more generic but unfamiliar progressively, and this separates our emotion from the settlement we live on," it continued.

"Therefore the key issue of the design is to rethink the urban renewal. Although our existing structure is not a historical heritage, such old architecture is still precious, since it reflects the trace of time."

M Woods forms part of the 798 Art Zone in a set of former factory buildings in Beijing's Chaoyang District.

Groups of artists began moving into the buildings in the mid 90s and the site has gradually evolved to include galleries, museums and a theatre with folding walls.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2016/08/29/vector-architects-m-woods-museum-entrance-beijing-steel-mesh/feed/1Tidal waters wash underneath Seashore Chapel by Vector Architectshttps://www.dezeen.com/2016/06/24/seashore-chapel-vector-architects-beach-beidaihe-china/
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/06/24/seashore-chapel-vector-architects-beach-beidaihe-china/#commentsThu, 23 Jun 2016 23:00:24 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=922547Beijing studio Vector Architects has built a concrete chapel on a Chinese beach, but raised it up above the sands so that seawater can wash underneath (+ slideshow). Named Seashore Chapel, the sculptural building provides a small place of worship for Beidaihe, a seaside town east of Beijing. It is the closest building to the sea anywhere in the

Its entrance is a grand staircase, which doubles up as an informal seating area. A 30-metre-long pathway leads to this entrance, while the roof canopy overhead functions as a bell tower.

The concrete structure is coated in white stucco, giving it a textured finish both inside and outside.

At certain times of the day, daylight filtering in through concealed openings in the roof creates distinct beams of colour across the interior surfaces.

At other times, it illuminates a cross nestled into a wall recess.

"At the noon of spring, summer and fall, when the solar altitude is almost perpendicular, the light projects directly onto the wall on the north, generating a vivid lighting effect," said the architects.

"Although the lights does not stay for long, the texture of the stucco wall is emphasised and celebrated by the light at the moment, and becomes a touchable skin," they added.

Bamboo floorboards offer some warmth to the otherwise monotone surfaces, and are complemented by wooden benches. The flooring continues out onto the balcony, which is located behind a large window wall.

Other spaces in the 270-square-metre building include a mediation room – a space big enough for just one person, framed by a wall that appears to have been peeled back.

There is also a toilet, a small office and a mezzanine level for a piano player.

Seashore Chapel will be used for a variety of community events, as well as religious ceremonies. It was finished in late 2015, shortly after Vector Architects completed a similar project in the neighbouring town of Nandaihe – a seaside library.

Both projects were commissioned by the same client, property developer Beijing Rocfly Investment.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2016/06/24/seashore-chapel-vector-architects-beach-beidaihe-china/feed/17Vector Architects disguises mountainside community centre beneath sprawling grass roofhttps://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/28/vector-architects-chongqing-taoyuanju-community-center-mountain-grass-roof-china/
https://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/28/vector-architects-chongqing-taoyuanju-community-center-mountain-grass-roof-china/#respondWed, 28 Oct 2015 13:37:05 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=789350Vector Architects designed a huge grassy roof canopy and plant-covered walls for this community centre in southwest China, helping it to blend in with its mountain landscape (+ slideshow). The Beijing studio designed Chongqing Taoyuanju Community Center for a sprawling plot among the mountains of the Taoyuan Park in China's Chongqing municipality. Comprising three separate volumes that each house a different function, the

"Instead of building an object in the field, we hoped to create an image of fusing architectural form and hilly landscape together," they added. "Green roof and green walls assist to blend the volume into its natural environment, and enhance the thermal co-efficiency of building envelope."

The architects considered the behaviour patterns of the wide spectrum of people the community centre would be used by, and responded by designing spaces for strolling, performing, education, exercise and healthcare within the complex.

The roof spans gaps between the buildings, creating covered walkways between different parts of the site and linking with a pair of courtyards, as well as an outdoor pool.

Trees protrude through rectangular and circular openings in the grassy canopy, while angular skylights project above the roofline, helping light to filter into the interiors.

According to the architects, this feature takes its cues from Qilou – a traditional form of housing that is fronted by an arcade.

"In traditional Chongqing architecture, Qilou is a common strategy because of the rainy weather," explained the architects.

"Such space type is adopted into the outdoor circulation system of the community centre. As a result, multiple paths connect two courtyards and the perimeter of the building."

"Openings, windows, cantilevers and corridors blur the boundary between the interior and exterior of architecture," they added.

"Thus, merging the whole space together with the sky, mountain, trees, sunlight and breeze can eventually create a lively co-existing relationship of artificial structure and natural landscape."

A corridor-like section of the building used to host yoga, spinning and aerobic classes projects over the edge of the and adjoins to the roof of the health centre.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/28/vector-architects-chongqing-taoyuanju-community-center-mountain-grass-roof-china/feed/0Vector Architects completes a seaside library with board-marked concrete wallshttps://www.dezeen.com/2015/05/19/vector-architects-seashore-library-coast-china-board-marked-cast-concrete-walls/
https://www.dezeen.com/2015/05/19/vector-architects-seashore-library-coast-china-board-marked-cast-concrete-walls/#commentsTue, 19 May 2015 07:00:22 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=703173This cast-concrete library sits on a stretch of deserted beach facing the East China Sea and features a tiered reading hall topped by a curving ceiling (+ movie). Beijing studio Vector Architects built the aptly named Seashore Library on the white sands of a beach in Nandaihe, a coastal region in eastern China. A tiered reading room occupies the

]]>This cast-concrete library sits on a stretch of deserted beach facing the East China Sea and features a tiered reading hall topped by a curving ceiling (+ movie).

Beijing studio Vector Architects built the aptly named Seashore Library on the white sands of a beach in Nandaihe, a coastal region in eastern China.

A tiered reading room occupies the centre of the two-storey library, while a meditation space, activity room, and bar occupy auxiliary areas around its edges.

The cast in-situ concrete walls are imprinted with the grain of their timber formwork – influenced by the rippled markings left behind on the sand by the wind and water.

"It implies a mark of memory in time," said the architects. "Wood grains are the marks of realisation process that we want to leave on the library. Also, it softens the hardness of concrete with warmth."

"From outside, it looks like a weathered rock that is pure and solid; but inside, what it contains is the rich feelings and experiences," they added. "When walking into the space, one starts to feel the light, breezes, and sound of the ocean. In here, everyone can slow down the usual pace, and unfold the feeling of distance and loneliness different from the city life."

Timber floorboards that resonate with the board-marked walls cover the terraced reading area and an L-shaped platform that brackets the space at the upper level.

Seating and study areas arranged on the stepped levels like the stalls of a theatre face a glazed wall that overlooks the sea.

"The ocean is an ever-changing character and continues to alter from season to season, morning to night," said the design team. "It is like a drama play of nature. As if giving the stage to this character of the ocean, we piled up seating platforms raised toward the back, so that everyone has an unblocking view to the stage."

A curving concrete ceiling patterned with small circular openings arches over the reading room. The holes allow light and air to filter into the space, while a row of small slanted oval windows run along the back wall.

Pivoting glass doors along the ground level to open the reading room to the beach. A panoramic window and section of glass brickwork set above these doors provide varying degrees of natural lighting for the upper-floor space.

While the sea-facing aspect is predominantly glazed, slabs of concrete and strips of laminated timber dominate the facade looking inland.

A passage is cut through one side of the block, providing access from the rear of the site. A cast-concrete flap that projects from the wall of this underpass is propped at an angle by a metal pole to shade a second floor window.

A dimly lit meditation room with a concave concrete ceiling sits to one side of the brightly lit upper floor. Two narrow openings – one horizontal and one vertical – light the space from the east and west to capture the subdued light of sunrise and sunset.

A glass door opens onto a wedge-shaped terrace where a flight of stairs ascends to a concave roof terrace. Within the hollow rooftop, the sound of the ocean can be heard but the water is out of sight.

An activity room with its own private balcony occupies an angled concrete box on the other side of the triangular terrace. Horizontal lightwells in the east and west walls illuminate the space throughout the day.

]]>https://www.dezeen.com/2015/05/19/vector-architects-seashore-library-coast-china-board-marked-cast-concrete-walls/feed/28Red mesh shades the interior of a farm visitor centre by Vector Architectshttps://www.dezeen.com/2014/06/26/farm-visitor-centre-kunshan-china-vector-architects/
https://www.dezeen.com/2014/06/26/farm-visitor-centre-kunshan-china-vector-architects/#respondThu, 26 Jun 2014 11:57:55 +0000http://admin.dezeen.com/?p=484051Beijing office Vector Architects installed a louvred wall of weathered steel mesh along one facade of this visitor centre on a farm near Kunshan, China, to shade the interior from the low evening sun (+ slideshow). Vector Architects – whose previous projects include a farm pavilion used for preparing crops – was asked to create a

]]>Beijing office Vector Architects installed a louvred wall of weathered steel mesh along one facade of this visitor centre on a farm near Kunshan, China, to shade the interior from the low evening sun (+ slideshow).

Vector Architects – whose previous projects include a farm pavilion used for preparing crops – was asked to create a multi-purpose events space, offices and kennels in a restored outhouse on the site of the Yue Feng Island Organic Farm, which supplies produce and also provides a visitor attraction for guests to the nearby Fairmont Yangcheng Lake Hotel.

Responding to the flat site and agrarian surroundings of fields, trees and water, the architects created a long, single storey structure to house the centre's reception, events area, storage and offices.

Approaching the site from the entry road, the building presents a long facade clad in ridged Corten steel mesh that prevents direct sunlight from overheating the interior.

"The empty flatness of the site is an essential character that we believe the design should respond to," said the architects. "The architecture appears as two horizontal translucent screens from the farm side."

Daylight and cooling breezes are able to penetrate the mesh surface, while views of the rural landscape from inside the centre are retained.

The ridged structure of the mesh wall adds reinforcement and enables a long span that doesn't require a supporting stud system.

A corridor that occupies the space between the diaphanous surface and the building's external wall connects sheltered terraces at either end of the centre.

The rear of the building is also clad in rusted steel in the form of flat panels, interrupted by staggered vertical fins that cast a pattern of shadow across the surface.

A short set of stairs leads down from the covered terrace at the centre's entrance to a walkway that connects the main building with the kennels behind and the building housing additional offices.

Timber louvres flank the path on one side, creating a shaded passageway with a view of the visitor centre and the surrounding farmland.

The entrance to the main building leads to a glass-walled reception area with a skylight inserted into its slatted timber ceiling, which projects at an angle from the roof.

The walls of the reception, corridors and events space are clad in wooden tiles showing the end grain of the timber, which lends the interior a natural feel.

Photography is by Susheng Liang.

Here's a project description from Vector Architects:

Visitor Center, Kunshan, China

Sited in southeast corner of Yuefeng Island Eco-farm alongside the Yang Cheng Lake, Kunshan, the visitor centre consists of a multi-functional activity space, a pet dorm, and a preserved house used as office.

Our design task is to explore how architecture should be integrated into such a context, to create a new and unique place, however harmonise with nature.

The empty flatness of the site is an essential character that we believe the design should respond to. The architecture appears as two horizontal translucent screens from the farm side. The first screen is made of perforated Corten steel.

The corrugation reinforces the material and ultimately saves the supporting stud system at the back. The second screen surface is made of wood louver. The corridor behind it connects the three major programs of the building.

Site plan - click for larger image

Both surfaces allow the penetration of wind, light and vision. While protecting the space from the western sun, they as well establish a blurred view of farm landscape for the people in the space.

Floor plan - click for larger image

The translucencies are sensitive of capturing the light, subtly shift the architectural image through the different season, weather, and the time of the day.